Baseball

Baseball Closes Home Stand with Win over Rhode Island College

May 05, 2010

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Six runs scored by MIT
in the second inning set the tone of the game as the Engineers beat
out non-conference opponent Rhode Island College, 8-6, Wednesday
evening on Briggs Field. With the win, the Engineers extend their
winning streak to four and level out to 15-15 on the season, while
the Anchormen move to 20-15 for the year.

After a scoreless first inning, RIC struck in the second when
senior Tim Schabowski led off with a double to center field and
worked his way home to give the Anchormen a 1-0 lead.

MIT’s flurry of second-inning runs began with a single by
junior Dan Hyatt and walk from sophomore A.J. Hansborough.
Sophomore Bryan Macomber brought home Hyatt with a single to left
field and junior Brian Doyle advanced the runners with a sac-bunt.
An erroneous throw on a failed pick-off scored Hansborough, while a
hit batter and walk reloaded the bases.

With a 2-1 advantage, Engineer James McKinney batted in Macomber
with an RBI-single. Freshman Grant Iwamoto added three more runs
with a base-clearing double to left field, capping Tech’s
six-run, second-inning effort.

Trailing 6-1 in the third, Rhode Island freshman Kevin Carey
singled to lead off the inning and was eventually brought in by
sophomore Kyle Allaire, narrowing the gap to 6-2.

In the fifth, reliever Marwing Pena replaced RIC starter Gary
Levesque on the mound. On the hook for the loss, Levesque (3-2)
retired with 6 strikeouts and 3 walks, having yielded 6 runs and 7
hits. Pena too was dismissed in the fifth after putting two runners
on base, and freshman Lucas Gagne was left to throw the third out
of the scoreless inning.

RIC attacked again in the top of the sixth as a triple by junior
Ronnie Bracchi to right field brought home pinch runner Joseph
Correia to cut the lead to three, 6-3.

The Engineers responded in the bottom of the sixth, as freshman
Sean Fannin led with a single and a walk, and a throwing error
advanced him to third before McKinney hit a sac-fly to right to
open the score to 7-3. Gagne left the game with one out, giving up
1 run and 1 walk in 2/3 inning total.

The Anchormen mounted a rally in the seventh, taking advantage
of MIT reliever Ryne Barry on the mound. Freshman Greg Palmer and
Allaire each singled before sophomore John Stone hit an RBI-single
up the middle. Senior Jared Rossi lofted a sacrifice fly to bring
in a second run, and Stone came home on a wild pitch, as RIC added
three and moved within striking distance at 7-6.

Sophomore Columbus Leonard closed the inning for MIT, bailing
out Barry, who left with 1 walk, 3 runs and 3 hits. Leonard went on
to pitch a scoreless eighth and tallied 2 strikeouts with 0 hits on
the day.

Junior Matthew Thadeio, who finished the seventh and tossed the
eighth for RIC, had 1 strikeout and 1 hit in his 1 and 2/3 innings
of service on the mound.

With RIC closer Bobby Venditto on the mound, the Engineers put
up an insurance run in the eighth, as senior Stewart Park walked to
first, stole second and was brought home on a throwing error after
stealing third, opening the lead to 8-6. Venditto tossed 1
strikeout and 2 walks in his 1 inning of duty.

Though the Anchormen put two on in the ninth, MIT closer Cameron
Brown notched his first save of the season by dismissing RIC,
allowing 1 hit, 2 walks and 0 runs.

After a six-game home stand in which the MIT went 4-2, the
Engineers head to Maine to face St. Joseph’s College in a
weekday doubleheader on Thursday, May 6, beginning at 3:30 p.m. The
Anchormen end their regular season when they visit Little East
rival UMass-Boston in a doubleheader on Saturday, May 8, starting
at 12 p.m.